The present invention relates to an escalator apparatus which can be safely utilized not only by ordinary passengers but also by special passengers who use vehicles such as wheelchairs, baby carriages and shopping carts.
Conventional escalators have been designed to transport ordinary passengers and hence the depth dimension of the steps is about 400 mm. Therefore, it has been difficult to transport wheelchairs or baby carriages safely while maintaining their horizontal state.
Therefore, various suggestions have been made including:
(1) a first arrangement in which, as in the case of Japanese Patent Publication No. 41555/1981, one or more large-sized steps having a sufficient depth dimension to transport a wheelchair or the like are incorporated in advance and man conveyor start and stop switches for exclusive use by physically handicapped persons are installed, the arrangement being such that operating such stop switch causes the large-sized step to stop at the entrance area and pushing the exclusive start switch subsequent to loading off wheelchair passengers causes the escalator to start, the large-sized step being stopped again at the exit area in the desired story after the lapse of a given time, and PA1 (2) a second arrangement in which, as in the case of Japanese Patent Publication No. 2153/1983, all steps are connected by pivotally connecting the main and auxiliary treads to construct an escalator having a substantially great depth dimension capable of carrying vehicles.
In the former escalator apparatus, however, the presence of the large-sized steps, though small in number, each having a sufficient depth dimension to carry a wheelchair or the like thereon, makes it necessary to increase the radii of the sprocket wheels for return drive at the entrance and exit areas, necessarily increasing the size of the escalator and limiting the installation space.
Further, since large-sized steps are combined at random with normal-sized steps, the time at which a large-sized step arrives at an entrance area, or exit area, cannot be known, so when a person using a wheelchair or the like wants to step on the escalator, the large-sized step has to be detected and stopped at the entrance area; thus the traffic will be shut off each time a wheelchair passenger utilizes the escalator.
In the latter escalator apparatus, although there is no need to increase the radii of the sprocket wheels for return drive at the entrance and exit areas, the step height becomes too great for a large-sized step, having a sufficient depth dimension to receive a large-sized wheelchair, at the maximum inclination angle of 30.degree., as in the conventional escalator. Therefore, there is a danger of a passenger tripping on the step. If the step height is decreased to about 200 mm, approximately the value for the conventional escalator, the maximum inclination angle is decreased to about 10.degree.. To obtain a required lift, the overall length of the escalator is necessarily increased, requiring greater installation space.
Thus, the present applicant has suggested, as described in Japanese Patent Application No. 160448/1988, an escalator apparatus having suitable degrees of step height and inclination angle, without an increase in size, and which is capable of transporting vehicles simultaneously with ordinary passengers.
In the suggested arrangement, a plurality of specific steps, having a predetermined depth, are continuously disposed to form a large-sized step having an increased depth, and a predetermined number of ordinary passenger steps, having a predetermined depth, are continuously disposed between said large-sized steps. The large-sized and ordinary passenger steps form a unit step, such unit steps being endlessly connected. The maximum inclination angle of the escalator can thus be optionally changed by changing the number of ordinary passenger steps.
Such an escalator apparatus is described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing an example of the lower story of this escalator apparatus; FIG. 3 is a detailed view showing an example of the arrangement of the steps shown in FIG. 2; and FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the basic technical concept of this escalator apparatus. In these figures, the numeral 1 denotes an escalator body; 2 denotes a balustrade; 3 and 4 denote steps having risers 3a and 4a for ordinary passengers; and 10 denotes a large-sized step for conveying a vehicle such as a wheelchair in such a manner that three specific steps 11, 12 and 13, to be later described in more detail, maintain the same horizontal state in the transport region. The large-sized step 10 and the ordinary passenger steps 3 and 4 (only the step 3 or 4 or numbers of setups 3 and 4 may be involved) form a single unit step 100.
The ordinary passenger steps 3 and 4, like conventional steps, have front wheels 31, 41 and rear wheels 32, 42 rotatably mounted in the lower areas of their front and rear ends, so that in the region of maximum inclination, the front wheels 31, 41 and rear wheels 32, 42 are supported and guided by guide rails 33, 43, 34, 44 having a predetermined angle of inclination .theta..
The specific step 11 is exactly the same in construction as the ordinary passenger steps 3 and 4, having a riser 11a, and front and rear wheels 111 and 112 rotatably mounted in the lower areas of its front and rear ends, so that in the region of maximum inclination, the front and rear wheels 111 and 112 are supported and guided by guide rails 113 and 114 having a predetermined angle of inclination .theta..
The specific steps 12 and 13 are the same in construction as the ordinary passenger steps except that they do not have riser portions (they may be ordinary passenger steps having riser portions). The steps 12 and 13 have front wheels 121, 131 and rear wheels 122, 132 rotatably mounted on the lower areas of their front and rear ends, so that in the region of maximum inclination, the front wheels 121, 131 and rear wheels 122, 132 are supported and guided by guide rails 123, 133, 124, 134 having a predetermined angle of inclination .theta.. The guide rails 133 preferably have a U-shaped cross section to prevent the specific step 13 from deviating upward.
A driving chain 20, for driving the steps, as shown in FIG. 3, is attached to the shafts 31a, 41a of the front wheels 31, 41 of the ordinary passenger steps 3, 4 and the shafts 111a, 121a, 131a of the front wheels 111, 121, 131 of the specific steps 11, 12 and 13. The driving chain 20 is in endless form.
The riser of a step of the escalator, as shown in FIG. 5, has a curve having a radius R with the center located at the front end A5 of the tread 5 of the step, that is, a curve having the depth dimension L of the tread 5. Thus, the maximum angle of inclination .theta. of an escalator having large-sized steps and ordinary steps regularly combined therewith to form unit steps 100 as shown in FIG. 3 is expressed by the formula 1 below. ##EQU1## where, as in FIG. 4, n is the number of ordinary passenger steps included in each unit step; H is the common step height; L is the depth dimension of ordinary passenger steps; .theta..sub.1 is the angle of inclination of ordinary passenger steps; and N is the magnification of the depth dimension of the large-sized steps with respect to ordinary passenger steps.
In FIG. 3, if the depth dimension L of the ordinary passenger steps 3 and 4 is 400 mm, the step height H is 200 mm, the magnification N of the depth dimension of the large-sized steps 10 is 3, and the angle of inclination .theta..sub.1 of the ordinary passenger steps 3 and 4 is 30.degree., then the maximum angle of inclination .theta. of the escalator in FIG. 3 is expressed by the formula 2, which is a function of the number n of ordinary steps 3 and 4 included in each unit step 100, it being seen that as the number n increases, a greater value of .theta. in the formula 2 can be taken (it being noted that .theta..sub.1 is not more that 30.degree.). For example, for n=2, .theta.=18.degree., for n=3, .theta.=20.degree., for n=4, .theta.=22.degree. . . . for n=22, .theta.=28.degree.. ##EQU2##
Therefore, the arrangement shown in FIG. 3 provides an escalator which is theoretically short in overall length since in order to obtain a rise required by the escalator, the maximum angle of inclination can be made as great as possible without increasing the step height irrespective of the presence of large-sized steps on which wheelchairs and the like can be carried.
In this connection, in the arrangement of FIG. 3, the number of guide rails for guiding the front and rear wheels of steps increases, but to prevent it, arrangements shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 may be employed.
First, in FIG. 6 in which the parts having the same reference characters as in FIG. 3 indicate the same parts, the numeral 50 denotes a large-sized step connected as by hinges 54 and 55 so that it can be bent backward at the opposed end surface of specific steps 51, 52 and 53 while being prevented from bending forward so that it is held in the same horizontal plane in the transport region. The large-sized step 50 cooperates with the ordinary passenger steps 3 and 4 (in this case also, only the step 3 or 4 or numbers of steps 3 and 4 may be involved) to form a single unit step 200 as in the case of FIG. 3.
The specific step 51 has a riser 51a like those of the ordinary passenger steps 3 and 4 and has a rear wheel 512 rotatably mounted in the rear lower area (with no front wheel at the front end). Each rear wheel 512 being supported and guided by a guide rail 514 having a predetermined angle of inclination .theta. in the region of maximum inclination of the escalator.
The specific step 52 has only a tread 52b and the specific step 53 has no riser but a front wheel 531 rotatably mounted in the front lower area (with no rear wheel at the rear end). Each front wheel 531 is supported and guided by a guide rail 533 having a U-shaped cross section with a predetermined angle of inclination .theta. in the region of maximum inclination of the escalator.
Therefore, in the arrangement shown in FIG. 6, the number of rails is 4 less on either side than that of guide rails used in the arrangement shown in FIG. 3. A driving chain 21, for driving the steps, is attached to the shafts 31a and 41a of the front wheels 31 and 41 of the ordinary passenger steps 3 and 4 and the shaft 531a of the front wheel 531 of the specific step 53. The driving chain 21 is connected in endless form. In addition, the riser 51a of the specific step 51 differs from the riser 11a of the specific step 11 shown in FIG. 3 in the following points.
The ordinary passenger step 3, opposed to the riser 51a of the specific step 51 shown in FIG. 6, is designed to rise and lower in its horizontal state while maintaining unchanged the distance R.sub.1 between the shaft 531a of the front wheel 531 of the specific step 53 and the shaft 31a of the front wheel 31 of the ordinary passenger step 3. This design makes it necessary to arrange the riser 51a of the specific step 51 such that it has a curved surface with a radius equal to the distance R.sub.1.
In contrast, in the case of the specific step 11 of FIG. 3, the riser 11a of this specific step 11 has a curved surface with its radius equal to the distance R between the shaft 111a of the front wheel 111 of the specific step 11 and the shaft 31a of the front wheel 31 of the ordinary passenger step 3, that is, the same curved surface as those of the risers 3a and 4a of the ordinary passenger steps 3 and 4.
In the unit step 200 in FIG. 6, if the front end A3 and front wheel shaft 31a of the ordinary passenger step 3 and the front end 53A and front wheel shaft 531a of the specific step 53 are arranged to form a parallelogram, then the riser 51a of the specific step 51 has to be formed with a curved surface having a radius equal to the depth dimension R.sub.2 of the large-sized step 50 with the center located at the front end A53 of the specific step 53. Usually the dimension R.sub.1 equals this dimension R.sub.2.
An embodiment which makes it possible to further reduce the number of rails by two more on each side will now be described with reference to FIG. 7. In FIG. 7, the numeral 60 denotes a large-sized step connected as by hinges 64 and 65 so that it can be bent backward at the opposed end surfaces of the specific steps 61, 62 and 63. In the transport region of operation, these steps are maintained in the same horizontal plane. The numeral 612 denotes a rear wheel rotatably mounted in the lower area of the rear end of the specific step 61 having a riser 61a. The rear wheel 612 is supported and guided by a guide rail 614 having a predetermined angle of inclination .theta. in the region of maximum inclination of the escalator.
The numeral 631 denotes a front wheel rotatably mounted in the lower area of the front end of the specific step 63 through a shaft 631a. The front wheel 613 is supported and guided by a guide rail 633 having a predetermined angle of inclination .theta. in the region of maximum inclination of the escalator.
The numeral 66 denotes a support link rotatably connected to the lower areas of the front ends of the specific steps 61 and 62 by pins 66a and 66b and also to the front wheel shaft 631a of the specific step 63, with means, e.g., hinges 66c and 66d, disposed between the pins 66a and 66b and between the pin 66b and the shaft 631a to allow said link to be bent only toward the tread side of said large-sized step 60.
The numerals 7 and 8 denote ordinary passenger steps having risers 7a and 8a, and 72 denotes a rear wheel rotatably mounted in the lower area of the rear end of the ordinary passenger step 7. The rear wheel 72 is supported and guided by a guide rail 74 having a predetermined angle of inclination .theta. in the region of maximum inclination of the escalator. The numeral 82 denotes a rear wheel rotatably mounted in the lower area of the rear end of the ordinary passenger step 8. The rear wheel 82 being supported and guided by a guide rail 84 having a predetermined angle of inclination .theta. in the region of maximum inclination of the escalator.
The numeral 67 denotes a support link connected to the lower areas of the front ends of the ordinary passenger steps 7 and 8 by pins 67a and 67b, the lower area of the front end of the specific step 61 above the ordinary passenger step 7, and to the support link 66 by pin 66a. Support link 67 is slidably connected to the shaft 631'a of the front wheel 631' of the specific step 63' constituting a large-sized step below the ordinary passenger step 8 through an elongated opening 67c. The link elements being connected by means, e.g., hinges 67d, 67e and 67f disposed between the pins 67a and 67b, between the pins 67a and 66a and between pins 67b and shaft 631'a allow the link elements to be bent only toward the tread side.
The large-sized step 60 cooperates with the ordinary passenger steps 7 and 8 (only the ordinary step 7 or 8 or numbers of ordinary passenger steps 7 and 8 may be involved) to form a unit step 300. A driving chain 22 for driving said unit 300 is attached only to the shafts 631a and 631'a of the front wheels 631 and 631' of the specific steps 63 and 63'. The driving chain is in endless form.
Now, let the depth dimensions of the treads of the specific steps 61, 62, 63 and 63' and ordinary passenger steps 7 and 8 be the same as L and let the distance between the pins 66a and 66b of the support link 66, the distance between the pin 66b of the support link 66 and the shaft 631a, the distance between the pins 67a and 67b of the support link 67, and the distance between the pins 66a and 67a of the support link 67 be also the same as L. Let the front end A7 and pin 67a of the ordinary passenger step 7 and the front end A61 and pin 66a of the specific step 61 define a parallelogram, the front end A8 and pin 67b of the ordinary passenger step 8 and the front end A7 and pin 67a of the ordinary passenger step 7 define a parallelogram and the front end A63' and shaft 631'a of the specific step 63' and the front end A8 and pin 67b of the ordinary passenger step 8 define a parallelogram. Then it follows that the ordinary passenger steps 7 and 8 describe arcs having a radius L with the respective centers located at the pins 66a and 67a of the support link 67 with respect to the respective upper steps. Therefore, the riser 61a of the specific step 61 and the riser 7a of the ordinary passenger step 7 have curved surfaces having a radius L with their respective centers located at the front ends A61 and A7.
As to the specific step 63', however, since it moves in such a manner as to maintain a fixed distance between the shaft 631a of the specific step 63 thereabove and the shaft 631'a of the specific step 63' therebelow, the distance between the pin 67b of the ordinary passenger step 8 and the shaft 631'a of the specific step 63' equals the depth dimension L of the step in the horizontal travel region for the escalator and in the region having a predetermined angle of inclination it gradually increases beyond L as the shaft 631'a slides in the elongated opening 67c of the support link 67. Thus, the curved surface of the riser 8a of the ordinary passenger step 8 has to be formed such that its radius with the center located at the front end A8 gradually changes.
In the escalator of such construction, only the specific steps 63 and 63' of the unit step 300 are directly driven by the drive chain 22, while the specific steps 61 and 62 are driven through the support link 66 and the ordinary passenger step is driven through the support links 66 and 67, driving the unit step 300 in its entirety.
The support link 66 serves to increase the rigidity of the large-sized step 60 and the support link 67 serves to maintain the horizontal state of the ordinary passenger steps 7 and 8. At the reversal points for the steps in the top and bottom regions of an escalator, they are bent at the hinges 66c, 66d and 67d, 67e, 67f, so that there is no possibility of the links interfering with the movement of the escalator when the drive chain 22 is driven.
In such escalators, there have been shown regular combinations comprising a large-sized step with a depth dimension greater than that of ordinary passenger steps and ordinary passenger steps having a predetermined depth dimension forming a unit step. The three embodiments described above show examples in which three specific steps are used to form a large-sized step to support a large-sized wheelchair, such as a motor-powered wheelchair. However, there are other cases in which two specific steps are sufficient to provide a sufficiently wide space for a baby carriage, a shopping cart, a child's wheelchair or the like. Such unit steps are connected in endless form; thus, any desired maximum angle of inclination of the escalator can be easily selected, without changing the step height, by simply changing the number of ordinary passenger steps to be connected.
In such escalator apparatus, various means have been made to decrease the number of guide rails. Each of the examples shown in FIGS. 3, 6 and 7 increases the number of guide rails to one degree or another if the number of ordinary passenger steps included in the unit step is increased. Even if the number of ordinary passenger steps is increased to make the maximum angle of inclination of the escalator to approach 30.degree. so as to decrease the overall length of the escalator, the number of guide rails which guide the steps increases in proportion thereto, resulting in a new problem that the width of the escalator has to be increased. Further, an increase in the number of guide rails leads to an increase in the weight of the trusses supporting the rails; thus, the problem is not limited to one of installation space.
The present invention has been accomplished with the above in mind and has for its object the provision of a vehicle transporting, space-saving escalator apparatus which minimizes the number of rails which guide the steps while providing a suitable degree of maximum angle of inclination.